


Model Behavior

by Fa11ingApartAtTheSeamz



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Kaito is a model, Post-Conan Kudou Shinichi, Pre-Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Somehow the fashion show doesn't become a crime scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-10 21:46:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15958166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fa11ingApartAtTheSeamz/pseuds/Fa11ingApartAtTheSeamz
Summary: On the list of ways Kaito had imagined running into Kudou Shinichi, at a one of Kaito’s modeling gigs was somewhere in the high 3000’s. Which was to say, Kaito did not have a plan for this situation. At all. And now, for some reason, Kudou was letting himself be pushed through the employee only entrance. Shouldn’t the detective have been objecting?





	Model Behavior

Shinichi couldn’t exactly explain how he had ended up at yet another fashion show. He could have sworn that Ran had given up on her dream of becoming a fashion designer years ago. Not that he was supposed to know that. But, as the long absent, world’s worst boyfriend, Sonoko’s words not Ran’s, he was obligated to support Ran’s dreams. Which he was pretty sure actually involved becoming a social worker. Because Ran had big heart. Big enough to forgive him for all but dropping off the face of the earth for 6 whole years.

And Shinichi loved her for it. There were a lot of things he wasn’t sure of anymore, but the one thing he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was that Ran was his rock. He owed her more than he could ever repay and he planned to spend the rest of his life trying to settle the bill. But there were moments he wondered if he was doing something wrong. Moments when Haibara looked at him with a mixture of pity and scorn.

It was actually earlier that night that she had finally pulled him aside.

_“Kudou. You need to stop.” Haibara told him with the serious face she tended to reserve for her you’re-going-to-get-yourself-killed speeches._

_“Stop what?” He’d asked, genuinely confused._

_“Pretending that you love Ran.”_

_“But I do love her.” And the fury that rose in response to Haibara’s accusation should have been more than enough proof of that._

_Haibara cocked an eyebrow. “Do you? Do you really love her?”_

_“Oi! What are you…” Shinichi’s words were cut off as Haibara raised her hands in placating gesture._

_“Think about it Kudou. Really think about it. Are you still capable of loving her?” Looks obviously couldn’t kill or Haibara would have dropped dead on Shinichi’s front step. “You can’t even tell her the truth about what happened. You spent 6 years as Conan. You can’t just pretend it never happened. You can’t pretend you are still the same person you were before.”_

 “Ku-Ro-Ba-San!” A woman Shinichi didn’t know whisper yelled in his ear as she grabbed the collar of his suit jacket. “Back stage now! You promised you would behave for this show.”

Shinichi’s heart hammered in his chest. He did not like to be touched. And one of the advantages of being back in his real body, was that for the most part, people didn’t touch him. One of the disadvantages however, was the mind numbing, body paralyzing fear that spiked through him the moment anyone so much as reached towards him. The final showdown with the black organization wasn’t without its consequences. And he had still yet to give Ran a good explanation for falling out of his chair when she tried to reach for the soy sauce on their first post-Conan-era date.

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Kaito knew he was running late, but he was also a master of the quick change. So it wasn’t really a big deal. On the other hand… that was Kudou Shinichi. The same Kudou Shinichi that had been plastered all over the newspapers for the last 3 months. The same one that had nearly shot Kaito’s alter ego off the top of the Edoka city clock tower at what was debatably the Kaitou KID’s hardest heist ever. And the detective was currently being dragged back stage by Sakura-chan.

On the list of ways Kaito had imagined running into Kudou, at a one of Kaito’s modeling gigs was somewhere in the high 3000’s. Which was to say, Kaito did not have a plan for this situation. At all. And now, for some reason, Kudou was letting himself be pushed through the employee only entrance. Shouldn’t the detective have been objecting?

“What did you do to your hair?!” Came an almost instantaneous shriek.

Kaito flinched. Upsetting Kanae-san, a hair stylist known for her ability to defy the laws of physics with nothing but pipe cleaners and hairspray, was not a good idea. As far at Kaito knew, he was the only model she actually liked. Because, well, his hair defied the laws of physics all on its own.

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Shinichi was going to hyperventilate. The moment the first woman had let go of him, another had grabbed his shoulders to inspect his hair with a growing look of horror on her face. “We have to fix this before Aoko-chan sees it.” She exclaimed as she pushed Shinichi into a chair in front of a mirror and deftly tied a smock around his neck with one hand.

“Kanae-san! Kaito-kun!” Called another woman, jogging up to them, but for a nice change, not touching Shinichi.

“Momoi-san, I thought you weren’t available for this show.” The hairdresser, Kanae apparently, said as she slathered something on her hands and then into Shinichi’s hair. Then she paused, peering closer at the top of Shinichi’s hair. “You let someone dye your hair! You never let _me_ dye your hair.”

“I…” Shinichi tried to answer, because surely he could explain the mistake if he could get his lungs to cooperate long enough.

“He probably did it himself.” The other woman, Momoi, replied over Shinichi’s strangled attempt at a response. “I bet it has something to do with another magic trick. He used to make all his own hair dyes in high school. Right, Kaito-kun?”

“Of course he did.” Kanae laughed, pulling at Shinichi’s hair like she was planning to pull it straight out of his scalp. “But whatever he did, he won’t be doing it again. Will you Kuroba-san?” She was looking at Shinichi through the reflection in the mirror as she rested her head on his shoulder, a challenge written across her face.

Shinichi shook his head, careful not to brush his cheek against hers.

“Good boy!” Kanae replied as she lifted her head and loosed Shinichi from the smock in a single movement. “Now get him to makeup Momoi-san!”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Kudou was not what Kaito had expected. Where was the confident super sleuth that all the newspapers raved about? “Come on Kaito-kun.” Kaito instructed in Momoi’s voice, reaching for Kudou’s hand. And Kudou literally flinched away from him.

Kaito’s brain short circuited. How had any of the girls mistaken Kudou for him? Because Kaito did not have eyes like that, bright blue and deep enough to drown in. And Kaito was playful while Kudou was… petrified. Why was Kudou petrified? “Are you okay?” Kaito asked as he let his hand drop. How had the others not seen the panic in Kudou’s eyes? The tension in his muscles? His uneven breathing?

“I,” The detective began as he stood, seeming to pull himself together in front of Kaito’s eyes, “am not Kuroba-san.”

“Of course not.” Kaito answered without thinking.

Those bright blue eyes Kaito had just been admiring narrowed, sliding up and down Kaito’s body, cataloging every detail. It was a rush, the kind of rush that only ever came from KID heists or meddling in the affairs of one Edogawa Conan.

“KID?” Kudou asked. “What are you doing here?”

_Pokerface!_ Because Kaitou KID was not about to be caught outside of a heist by a detective he had only crossed paths with once before. WWMD. What would Momoi-san do? Be offended that she had been called a kid. “I’m not a kid.”

Kudou looked relieved all of the sudden. “You can be this Kuroba person right?”

Uh… Yes? Kaito could be himself. What exactly was going on in Kudou’s brain?

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Shinichi really didn’t know why KID was there. But he also really didn’t care as long a KID got him out of there. Though, the look on KID’s face wasn’t very reassuring. That woman was actually KID wasn’t she?

“Kuroba-san!”

Shinichi was starting to hate that name. And why didn’t anyone ever seem happy to see Kuroba? The new man in particular, as he bodily pulled Shinichi away from KID.

“You should already be dressed.” The man lectured as he started pulling Shinichi’s clothes off.

“Tanaka-san.” KID addressed, grabbing the man’s hand before he could undo more than the top two buttons of Shinichi’s shirt. “I need to do his makeup first.”

Shinichi let himself hope he had been saved for a full second before Tanaka spoke again. “Help me get him in his suit first. You can do the makeup once he’s in the lineup. But he needed to be dressed two minutes ago.”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Kaito watched as Kudou seemed to choke on air, the tension returning to his muscles, and his eyes showing just a little too much white. And Kaito felt like an idiot. Kudou was terrified of being touched and he’d been asking Kaito to get him out of the situation. And Kaito, hadn’t realized in time. The best he could do now was pull a quick change… which would certainly out him as KID if Kudou wasn’t already 100% certain of his deduction… but Kudou looked about ready to pass out or start screaming if things continued as they had. Why couldn’t anyone else see that?

Uh… Kaito really was slow tonight. Running into Kudou had really knocked him off his game. No one else saw what Kaito did, because they weren’t looking. Well they were looking, but Kudou wasn’t really showing them the signals that should go along with his emotional state. It was so familiar it was almost painful to watch once Kaito understood. Kudou had been living with a mask for so long that his real feelings weren’t bleeding through like they should. Six years according to the papers. Kudou had been in hiding for 6 years.

“Kaito-kun, just do one of your quick changes and be done with it.” Kaito encouraged as he pushed Kudou across the room just a little bit faster than he had before, making it impossible for Tanaka to continue disrobing the detective.

And bless the detective and his frankly terrifying ability to draw conclusions from a single sentence. Kudou’s face brightened into an expression that could have been anything from ‘Oh, why didn’t I think of that.’ to ‘I wanted to see how long it took you to remember I’m a quick change master.’

Kaito dropped a smoke bomb, and for a split second wondered if Kudou would be okay once the smoke cleared.

Complaints came from all directions as Kaito worked to change out Kudou’s clothes. “Really, Kuroba?”, “Again?”, “Why can’t you change like a normal person?” But none of the complaints came from Kudou. If anything, the detective relaxed as the smoke encompassed him.

“I’ve missed your heists.” Kudou whispered, his forehead actually falling onto Kaito’s shoulder as he tugged the top layer of fabric into place.

“You’ve only ever attended one.” Kaito answered, his fingers smoothing out unseen wrinkles and shifting cloth ever so slightly. “I can’t believe you’re actually the same size.” Then his fingers stopped, his mind finally catching up. Kudou was covered in scars, some of them so fresh the skin was still puckered and raised, and he was letting Kaito touch him when even having his hair styled had been too much. “Are you okay?”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Shinichi would have answered if the smoke wasn’t clearing. Instead he straightened, wearing the designer suit as it was intended, with an air of unwavering confidence.

Tanaka glared. “I know you’re friends with the designer…”

“And hot as the sun.” KID interrupted, redirecting part of Tanaka’s ire.

“But you really need to be more professional.”

Shinichi shifted his weight backwards onto one foot, adopting a more casual stance that still allowed him to look down on Tanaka.

It had exactly the effect Shinichi had hoped for. The man took a step back as wariness crept into his expression. Because KID was the mysterious Kuroba. And no one looked happy to see him because they knew better. Because obviously KID’s civilian persona was still an over the top prankster.

“Lineup!” A voice called out before the entire area seemed to burst into motion, not the least of which was KID grabbing Shinichi’s hand and leading him over to a curtained area that was quickly filling with other men and women in perfectly fitted suits and dresses.

KID’s touch was soft as he held Shinichi’s face towards the light, the makeup brushes ghosting over his skin. “Knock them dead, Detective.”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

The cringe that found its way to Kudou’s face might have been comical if it weren’t so familiar. Though why it was familiar was something Kaito was going to have to ponder after the show.

“Please don’t say things like that.” Kudou muttered, his lips barely moving as Kaito painted them with a light gloss.

“You’ll be fine. All you have to do is walk with confidence, strike a pose, walk back, let me change you, and repeat two more times.”

Kudou’s eyes doubled in size. “Two times? Can’t you get me out of this?” His voice was soft, but it carried all the urgency of someone who knew they were barely keeping it together.

Kaito shook his head slightly, counting on the detective’s sharp eyes to catch the movement and interrupt the meaning. The area around them had grown far too crowded to continue their conversation. There was also the added factor of Aoko wading through her models to get to the front of the line. They were out of time. “Wear your mask just a little bit longer. Please.”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

It was the ‘please’ that gave Shinichi the strength to straighten his shoulders and take a step away from KID and step closer to the stage. He knew that tone of voice. And even coming from KID he knew it meant the speaker was asking for something important. Why it was important was something that Shinichi would have to sort out later, but he could do this for KID. KID had certainly done enough for him over the years.

Shinichi listened to the short speech the designer gave, noting that the inspiration for his current ensemble was ‘self-control or lack thereof’. And then he was moving, his thumbs hooked in his trouser pockets as he made his way to end of the runway. Lights flashed as he struck a pose, mimicking the casual confidence of the moonlight magician the best he could. Then he was back behind the curtains, following KID off to a rack of clothing.

KID was beaming. “You did great.”

“I tried.” Shinichi answered. “Because this is important to you isn’t it?”

The hands that had been stripping Shinichi out of his shirt stilled. “Yeah. It is.” Barely audible, but that had been KIDs voice. Not the one that belonged to his disguise.

“Two more times, right?” Shinichi questioned as KID dropped another smoke bomb and switched out the rest of his clothes.

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

“Right.” Kaito choked out in Momoi’s voice. Kudou was definitely not what Kaito had expected. The confident super sleuth was certainly in there, but there was something else behind Kudou’s eyes. Something achingly familiar.

And oh goodness, Kaito needed a cold shower. He was 98% certain Kudou looked better in that outfit than he would have. It was the smirk. Kaito had almost complete mastery of his face, but he never could get Kudou’s trademark smirk right. And he’d tried it at a couple of heists before it occurred to him that maybe he shouldn’t be pretending to be someone who’d gone to ground.

“Are you ok?” Kudou questioned. And why was the detective being so considerate towards Kaito?

Kudou blinked. “You’ve helped me plenty of times before.” And either Kudou had read Kaito’s mind or he’d actually asked that out loud. Neither were good options.

“I have?”

Kudou didn’t get to answer. Tanaka was bodily dragging him back into the lineup.

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

When he remembered how to breathe again, Shinichi was already being herded forwards and back onto the runway. He could officially scratch ‘model’ off of his list of fall back careers. It fit KID though. Sort of. Shinichi would have guessed magician before model, but he supposed that might have been too obvious given the phantom thief’s night time escapades.

There was a more pressing question though. Why was KID acting like he didn’t know Shinichi?

A camera flash hit him at the same time as his epiphany, and it was anyone’s best guess what the photo would look like. KID didn’t know Kudou Shinichi, he knew Edogawa Conan.

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

“Oh, my god!” Aoko whispered as she tugged at Kaito’s shirt sleeve. And Kaito couldn’t help but agree as photos of Kudou showed up on the backstage monitors. The detective still radiated confidence, but there was a vulnerability showing through too. Something that made him seem so much more human than the other models he was walking with. And damn if it didn’t translate into a great picture. “Why can’t he look like that every show?”

Kaito blinked at her. Could he ask without blowing his disguise? Yes. Yes, he could. “What do you mean?”

Aoko sighed. “He’s always so controlled.”

Kaito raised an eyebrow. That couldn’t be what she actually thought about him.

“You know what I mean.” Aoko replied with a wave of her hand. “He only lets people see what he wants them to see. And in that picture… I think that’s a glimmer of something real showing through.”

Well, now Kaito felt horrible. The way Aoko was talking, it sounded like she never thought she was seeing the real Kaito. And now that he thought about it. She hardly ever did. “I’m going to go check on Kaito-kun’s makeup.”

“It’s fine.” Aoko answered as she clamped onto Kaito’s sleeve again. “Bakaito will fix his own makeup if he needs to. Stay and watch the show with me. You weren’t even scheduled to be here. So, it’s not like they need you.”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Shinichi’s first reaction when he didn’t see KID immediately was to panic. But that wouldn’t do him any good. Instead he stamped down the tidal wave of panic and looked not for KID but for the mousy disguise he had been wearing. She stood off to the side, her sleeve held tight in the grasp of the woman next to her.

Shinichi swallowed and moved towards a new rack of clothing with the models he’s been following. KID wasn’t coming. Though, the look on his face said clearly that he would if he could. So it was up to Shinichi.

The steps seemed simple enough. Find the photo labeled with ‘Kuroba’, put on the outfit that matched, and get back in line. One problem. Err… two problems. First, how did one get into the outfit with all of those crisscrossing straps? Second, how was Shinichi supposed to hide his scars when he changed? Sure he had lifted a couple of KIDs smoke bombs, but he couldn’t change fast enough to… Nevermind. It didn’t matter. Somethings only got worse the more you thought about them.

Shinichi took a deep breath and dropped a smoke bomb, wiggling out of his second outfit before anyone could offer to help. He was most of the way into the skin tight pants of the third outfit when the cloud started to dissipate. Then it was a choice. Show his scars or use the second smoke bomb.

He used the second smoke bomb.

“Kuroba!” Another of the models growled as the second round of smoke vanished.

Shinichi blinked at him innocently. “The straps take more time.” He said matter-of-factly.

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

For the first time in his life, Kaito wanted to hug a detective. A full sized detective. Conan didn’t count. Because kids were meant to be hugged. Even if they kicked supersonic soccer balls and wore wrist watches with tranquilizer darts in them.

He did have to wonder though. When exactly did Kudou manage to pickpocket him? Beside him, Aoko sighed. “I swear I don’t know why anyone but me puts up with him.”

Kaito giggled like Momoi. “Because in fashion, what really matters are the pictures he takes and how well he walks.”

Aoko took a moment to glance away from the screen in front of her. “I hate that.”

Katio fell silent. He really didn’t have a response for that.

“He should have followed his dreams. Become the world class magician he was always droning on about back in high school.”

“But, doesn’t he do it for you?” Kaito asked hesitantly. He still remembered the day Aoko first asked him to a model for her back when she was auditioning for fashion school.

Aoko’s smile was fond even as she stared straight ahead at the monitors. “I’m sure he tells himself that. But, no, he doesn’t.”

Kaito wanted to argue. To tell Aoko that she was wrong. That he was supporting her dreams because she meant the world to him. But Momoi would never say something like that. And… Kaito wasn’t entirely certain it was true.

He turned his eyes back to the monitor to watch Kudou come to a stop at the end of the runway once again. How anyone could confuse the two of them, he simply didn’t know. Kaito was controlled chaos. And Kudou was composure itself. Except neither of those things were really true were they?

Speaking of Kudou... Kaito stepped away before Aoko could nab him again. He had to make sure the detective made it through the finale.

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Shinichi’s legs threatened to give out in relief as he walked behind the curtains and almost ran straight into KID. “That’s it right?” He murmured as KID pulled him to the side.

KID smiled at him in response. “Almost. One more walk for the finale. Then you are done.”

“Then we need to talk.”

KIDs Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Decided to turn me in?”

“What? No. I… I just have something to tell you.” Shinichi stuttered out. KID’s words hurt more than they should have. Really with all they’d been through… With all that KID and Conan had been through… “Just don’t… disappear.”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Kaito watched as Kudou filed out with the rest of the models for the finale walk, Aoko trailing behind them to wave at the audience.

Kudou’s last words had been laced with a mix of desperation and hope. And Kaito didn’t quite know what to make of that. He still didn’t even know why the detective was there. Or why he’d decided to go along with the fashion show. The detective could have hopped off the runway or bolted out the door anytime. Yet he’d stayed. So Kaito would stay.

He stayed even as the phantom sensation of handcuffs clamped around his wrists. Kudou knew his name at this point. His real name. It wouldn’t matter even if he ran. Somehow he knew Kudou could catch him.

“You stayed.” Kaito’s head snapped up from where he’d been staring at the floor. “I wasn’t sure you would.” Kudou added as he stood just out of arms reach.

“You had something you wanted to talk about.” Kaito prompted. He sounded calm even had his heart threatened to beat out of his chest.

Kudou nodded. “How… how do you…” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Whatever he was trying to say obviously wasn’t easy for him. “When you spend all your time being someone else, how do you know if you are still you?”

Kaito stared at the detective for a full minute. “I don’t. I just try to make the best of whichever me I am at any given moment. Why do you ask?”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

Shinichi swallowed. He’d known exactly what he wanted to say when he walked back out on the runway for the finale. But now he couldn’t quite bring himself to say the words. It was like trying to tell Ran. Only KID wasn’t Ran.

“I don’t know who I am anymore.”

KID cocked his head to the side, real confusion bleeding through his mask. “Ok…?”

“I’m not sure if I’m Kudou Shinichi again. Or if I’m someone else entirely.”

“Meitantei, I’m not sure I…”

Shinichi cut KID off. “It’s Tantei-kun to you.”

KID frowned. “Sorry, that nickname is taken.”

“No, Tantei-kun is what you’ve always called me.”

KID raised an eyebrow. “Sure… Wait… What? You can’t be…”

Shinichi smiled. Not the cheerful smile he wore for Ran. Or the reassuring smile he pasted on for his other friends. It was a smile that was weighed down with the exhaustion of living a lie. “What? Am I not your biggest critic anymore?”

~00101110_00101110_00101110~

The grin that split Kaito’s face was definitely out of character for the disguise he was wearing, but at that moment he really didn’t care. “Of course you are, no matter what faces the two of us are wearing.”

Kudou’s smile grew a little bit warmer. “Good to hear. Now can you please get me out of here?”

**Author's Note:**

> The author would very much like feedback via Kudos or comments.


End file.
